


Be My Ride or Die (Just for One Night)

by antijosh



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Crack, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, alternately titled: wonwoo steals a dog and junhui Suffers, glasses!Jun, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-27 12:42:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7618522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antijosh/pseuds/antijosh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Junhui never thought of himself as a ride-or-die chick, but when he's running from an angry ahjumma with a stolen dog and the stranger who stole it, he starts thinking the name could apply.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Be My Ride or Die (Just for One Night)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [galaxytaos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxytaos/gifts).



> sorry in advance for the old movie references. i couldn't help myself.

Junhui’s whole body buzzes, a lasting reminder of the fun he had just minutes before. Minghao, one of his juniors at the company, was turning twenty-five, and their whole floor had gone out to celebrate after work. Junhui’s glasses were slipping down his nose as he walked and he knew his tie was askew, but the cold was biting and all he could think about was how warm his bed was going to be when he got home. He shuddered as he adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder, rushing to shove his hands back in his pockets. It’s an unusually cold night, even for November in Seoul, and Junhui sorely wishes he’d worn gloves, or maybe just accepted someone’s offer of a ride home instead of insisting on walking.

As he nears a street corner, getting ready to cross to the other side, the peaceful quiet of the small street is interrupted by barking. Junhui quickly locates the source: a large dog tied to the fence blocking off a small alley. Junhui immediately feels bad for the dog--it must be freezing, he thinks. The apartments in the building above seem quiet and dark, so Junhui just averts his eyes and walks quickly past the animal, silently praying for it to stop barking.

The dog quiets soon after he passes and Junhui breathes a small sigh of relief. He doesn’t need an angry resident coming out to fuss at him and the dog for making a racket. He’s had only a minute of silence before the dog starts barking again. Junhui scowls, turning around to try and find the source of the animal’s upset.

Even with his glasses on, Junhui has to squint to make out the scene in front of him, illuminated only by the orange streetlamps. A tall figure in a heavy coat approaches the dog, crouching down in front of it and holding out a gloved hand for the dog to sniff. Junhui can hear the low murmur of a voice, but the two are too far away for him to make out what’s being said. Still, his brow furrows as the figure starts to untie the dog from the fence, because it’s apparent enough that the dog doesn’t belong to them.

Junhui really, really wants to just ignore it and keep walking. He can practically hear his bed beckoning him, begging for him to come home and swim in his soft sheets and fluffy pillows. But Junhui’s mother did not raise a son who would turn a blind eye, and before he can stop himself he’s walking back, voice calling out. “What are you doing?” His question echoes in the empty street, and the stranger’s head snaps up, body frozen.

“Did you just steal a dog?” Junhui’s words come out half exasperated, which is pretty representative of how he feels right now. It’s nearing midnight and it’s so cold out he thinks his balls might be permanently frozen and now he’s a witness to a crime.

“It wasn’t happy,” the stranger defends quickly. “The owners, they leave it out here all night and it’s cold and it could--” He’s cut off as the dog pulls on the rope tied to it’s collar, and the stranger’s hood falls back to reveal his face. Junhui’s even more annoyed now--the dog thief is cute. He’s got thick black hair falling into his eyes and the tip of his nose is a bright pink from the cold.

Junhui gives his head a little shake and pushes his glasses up his nose, trying to forget about the stranger’s appearance and focus on the crime once again. “Dude, I’m tired. Just put the dog back.”

“What does that have to do with you being tired?” the stranger asks, tugging the dog closer to his side. “If you’re tired, leave us alone and go home.”

“I can’t just let you leave with a stolen dog!” Junhui protests.

“Guess you’ll have to follow me then,” the stranger calls over his shoulder as he turns on his heel and strides off, the dog trotting happily by his side.

“I must be crazy,” Junhui mutters to himself, adjusting the strap of his bag before increasing his strides to catch up to the stranger.

* * *

 

Really, Junhui should’ve given up somewhere along the way. He should have just turned around and headed back home and forgotten about the handsome stranger and the damn dog, but no, Wen Junhui does not quit. So he finds himself at the front door of the stranger’s apartment as the man fumbles with frozen fingers to unlock the door.

In a sudden moment of intelligence, Junhui thinks to snatch up one of the many envelopes in the pile of mail in front of the door. It’s addressed to Jeon Wonwoo, which Junhui can only assume is the dog thief.

“So you’re Jeon Wonwoo?” he asks.

Wonwoo turns, a look of shock on his face. His mouth starts to open to ask how Junhui could possibly know that and if he had some kind of magic powers (at least that’s what Junhui hopes he would ask), but snaps shut again when his eyes find the envelope in Junhui’s hands.

“Hey,” he says in annoyance. “First you follow me home, and now you’re snooping through my mail. Where is your sense of privacy?”

“I’m sorry for not respecting the privacy of someone who steals pets,” Junhui bites back.

“Okay, I was rescuing it and it’s not like I do this all the time!” Wonwoo defends himself. “Anyway, you know my name now, so you should tell me yours. I want to know who is harassing me.” He finally manages to open the door, and Junhui follows him inside without a second thought. Someone who steals dogs because they feel bad for them is probably not a murderer, he reasons. Probably.

“Wen Junhui,” he replies, shutting the door behind them. “I’m Wen Junhui, and I’m not harassing you. You invited me to follow you home.”

“Well yeah, I didn’t think you’d actually do it. Who does that?” Wonwoo asks, dropping his keys on a countertop and leading the dog to the couch.

“I don’t know, who steals a dog in the middle of the night?” Junhui quips back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I was saving her!” Wonwoo replies harshly before settling into silence, eyes fixed on the dog as he pets it.

“It’s a girl?” Junhui asks. Wonwoo just gestures at the dog’s smooth stomach, raising an eyebrow.

“I'm calling her Lou, like Louisa Clark,” he announces after a moment. Junhui looks at him blankly, and Wonwoo sighs.

“The character from ‘Me Before You’?” he continues. “No? Do you ever read or do you just make a hobby of stopping people from saving animals?”

“You didn't save her, you stole her.” Junhui rolls his eyes.

“Could you let that go? And come sit down. If you’re going to stay then you might as well be comfortable,” Wonwoo says, patting the couch cushion on the other side of Lou.

“Should I stay?” Junhui asks.

“It’s late,” Wonwoo shrugs. “You might as well. Besides, you’re probably not done nagging me about Lou, are you.” It’s not a question.

Junhui doesn’t say anything, but crosses the room and sits down next to the dog. Lou takes interest in him, lifting her head up to sniff at his thigh.

“She is pretty cute,” Junhui admits. He holds out his hand, hovering it over her head for a moment. She pushes her nose up into his palm, as if she’s urging him to pet her. Wonwoo chuckles, and Junhui can’t help but smile as he starts running his hand down her back, from the top of her head to the base of her tail.

Junhui’s not sure if it’s the time or the cute dog he’s petting or the cute guy in front of him, but he feels remarkably comfortable for where he is. He thinks he should probably be a little more cautious, but he doesn’t hate how relaxed he is. He hasn’t done anything like going home with a stranger since he came to Korea, and he has to admit that he kind of missed taking chances like this. Even if this time it was out of concern for the law.

“This is not how I pictured spending my Friday night,” Junhui comments, running his hand over Lou’s head over and over.

“Technically, it’s Saturday morning.”

“You don’t have many friends, do you Jeon Wonwoo?”

Wonwoo looks at him with mock offense, but soon enough they’re both laughing. Not because it’s particularly funny, but it’s about four am and they’re feeling giddy.

Somewhere between then and the sunrise, Wonwoo offers Junhui a drink and Junhui accepts. They each have a beer, and spend the rest of the time just sitting on the couch and petting Lou. She loves the attention, and whenever they get too caught up in conversation to remember to keep loving on her, she nudges their hands or thighs with her nose.

Junhui learns more about Wonwoo than he ever thought could be possible in this strange situation. Wonwoo tells him about how he used to be afraid of dogs, but learned to love them after his brother got the sweetest border collie in the world. Wonwoo’s allergic to seafood and loves to read and doesn’t watch as many movies as Junhui (which is a damn shame). After many comments from Junhui on how he needs to "be more cultured", Wonwoo puts his number in Junhui's phone, saying: "either text me movie recommendations or shut up."

Junhui finds himself opening up too. He talks about how he never had pets, just a little brother to mess with and love on. He talks about coming to Korea two years ago, about his boring job in finance and how he used to want to be a professional dancer and travel the world. They talk and they laugh and Junhui really can’t ignore the way his heart flutters when Wonwoo’s nose crinkles as he laughs and how beautiful he find’s Wonwoo’s smile.

The sun rises with the two of them still sitting there, but they’ve fallen into a comfortable silence. Wonwoo is looking down at Lou, and Junhui takes his chance to steal glances at Wonwoo, to study his face. Still, in the silence, the nagging thought returns that they’re in the wrong. Lou isn’t theirs.

“Okay but you should really give her back,” Junhui breaks the silence gently. “She’s probably got owners who miss her, and if you really want a dog you can just get one from a shelter.” Wonwoo looks at him with big sad eyes, and Junhui continues. “It’s the right thing to do, Wonwoo.”

“Fine, we’ll drop Lou back off,” Wonwoo gives in. “Leave her right where we found her.”

At first Junhui wants to gloat, but then it occurs to him that they’ll have to return to the scene of the crime in daylight. “What are we gonna say if someone sees us?” he asks. “‘Hi, this here’s Jeon Wonwoo. I’m Wen Junhui. We steal dogs.’ And you should stop calling her Lou, it will just make it harder to give her back.”

  
“Only because you won’t let me keep her,” Wonwoo grumbles, eyes cast down at the floor. “Why couldn’t you just have kept walking?” he complains.

“I didn’t come to Korea to be anything less than an upstanding citizen,” Junhui remarks snarkily. “Besides are you saying you don’t enjoy my company?”

“Your company is nice,” Wonwoo admits.

Junhui has no reply to that, so he asks a question instead. “Do you have a car?”

“Yes,” Wonwoo answers slowly.

“Great. We can drive back there and I’ll wait for you to return the dog.”

“Okay,” Wonwoo agrees. He gives Lou a dejected look, and Junhui swears the dog looks back at him with the same sadness in her eyes.

“Let’s just go now, get it over with,” Junhui suggests. The sun’s barely up, there probably won’t be anyone out to see us.”

Wonwoo nods in silence, taking Lou’s leash in his hand and getting up, leading her to the door. Junhui follows him down the stairs and out to the street to a small silver car parked halfway up on the curb. Lou jumps up into the backseat easily and Junhui takes the passenger’s side as Wonwoo slides into the driver’s seat, still looking pitifully sad as he starts the car.

“Step on it, Velma,” Junhui jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood. Wonwoo just looks at him blankly, and Junhui has to roll his eyes. “Dude. I know you like books but you gotta watch a movie once in awhile.”

* * *

 

“I still don’t want to do this,” Wonwoo says. They’re outside of where Wonwoo had originally taken Lou from, just sitting in the car. Junhui turns to the backseat, hoping for some sign that Lou wants to return home, but the dog just looks happy. Her big brown eyes seem to be staring into Junhui’s soul as she looks up at him, head rested on her fluffy white paws.

“We should,” Junhui forces himself to say, tearing his eyes from Lou’s cute face. If he keeps looking at her, all his will to do good will melt away. “I mean you should,” he corrects himself. “I’ll wait in the car.”

“What? No, you have to come with me,” Wonwoo’s eyes go wide.

“You stole her, not me!” Junhui fixes him with his best “mom glare”, and Wonwoo’s fear seems to melt into depressed resignation.

Wonwoo gets out of the car slowly, shooting glances back at Junhui every so often. His eyes ask if he really has to do this, and Junhui just nods.

Lou jumps out of the backseat easily when Wonwoo opens the door, and it gives Junhui a little pang of sadness to watch her go. Junhui watches through the window as they cross the street, and his heart starts to beat fast when he sees a door open. Out steps a little ahjumma, and he almost breathes a sigh of relief but then she starts yelling at Wonwoo. Junhui can see him flinch, and before he knows it he’s out of the car and crossing the street, going to Wonwoo’s rescue.

“--going to call the police! You hooligans!” the old woman huffs. She disappears back into her house for a moment, and Junhui and Wonwoo share a look of terror. Lou sits at their feet, oblivious. She reappears moments later with a phone in one hand and brandishing a broom at them with the other--Junhui thinks he’s never felt real terror till this moment.

“Run,” he finds himself saying. “Wonwoo, take the dog and run.”

“What?” Wonwoo looks at him, confused. The ahjumma is dialing and Junhui grabs Wonwoo’s arm, dragging him off down the sidewalk.

“Run!” he repeats. Wonwoo finally catches on, breaking into a sprint beside Junhui, Lou bounding to keep up with them. The yelling gets louder, and Junhui looks back to see the ahjumma running after them, broom held high in the air.

Wonwoo’s laughing breathlessly, Lou’s tongue is lolling out of her mouth, and Junhui the most alive he’s felt in years. A quick glance cast over his shoulder tells Junhui the ahjumma has stopped chasing them, instead standing on the street corner and shaking her broom at them angrily. He’s laughing too now, can’t help himself, feet pounding harshly against the sidewalk.

They stop to catch their breath after another block, collapsing outside of a convenience store. They’re too out of breath to laugh now, but both their faces are split into grins so wide it makes Junhui’s cheeks hurt.

“So we can keep her?” Wonwoo asks.

“You can keep her,” Junhui nods.

“No, _we’ll_ keep her.” Junhui’s not sure if Wonwoo’s serious or not, but he sure looks like it.

“We barely know each other, we can’t share a dog,” Junhui scoffs, looking away.

“Fine. But you’re attached to her, you can’t deny it.”

‘I’m attached to you too,’ Junhui wants to say--but he doesn’t.

“Give me your hand,” Wonwoo says. Junhui looks back over at him and obliges, holding out his hand palm up. Lou head butts it, expecting to be petted, which makes both of them smile again. Wonwoo pulls out a pen, and scribbles a series of numbers on the heel on Junhui’s hand.

“There,” he says when he’s finished. “Call me or text me if you want to see her. Or me. Or whatever.” Junhui feels like he can see through Wonwoo’s fake confidence, but he just smiles and nods.

“Okay,” he agrees. “I’ll call you.”

“Good,” Wonwoo replies. There’s a bit of an awkward silence; neither of them are sure of what to do next, so they just sit there and look down at Lou, who is laying belly up between them.

“I helped you steal a dog. Again.” Junhui’s revelation breaks the stillness in the air, and makes Wonwoo chuckle.

“Do you feel like a ride-or-die chick or something?” Wonwoo jokes, and Junhui lights up.

“Some day they’ll go down together, they’ll bury them side by side. To a few, it’ll be grief, to the law, a relief--but it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde,” Junhui recites.

“Is that what you keep referencing?” Wonwoo asks. “Fucking ‘Bonnie and Clyde’?”

“Finally! Finally you get it!” Junhui exclaims. “Have you seen it?”

“No,” Wonwoo shakes his head. A beat of silence, and then: “Want to change that?”

“Like, now?”

“Why not?” Wonwoo asks.

“Okay,” Junhui replies after a moment’s thought. “Yeah, okay. I’ve got the DVD at my place.”

“Is your building dog friendly?” Wonwoo asks, raising Lou’s leash.

Junhui nods in confirmation, and Wonwoo smiles. As if she knows, Lou rolls over and jumps up, tugging at the leash.

“Maybe we should take a nap first,” Junhui suggests as they start walking. “I’ve been up all night.”

“Do you usually ask people you’ve just met to nap with you?” Wonwoo jokes.

“Just the cute ones that steal dogs.”

“Good to know.”

* * *

 

((Junhui and Wonwoo do end up sharing Lou, which becomes a whole lot easier three years later when they move in together. Junhui loves telling everyone how they met, and when people ask Wonwoo still insists on referring to Lou as a rescue dog. She certainly doesn’t mind.))


End file.
